In clinical practice, a patient with difficulty in moving to a radiography room sometimes undergoes round using X-ray radiography. Moreover, emergent X-ray radiography may be performed in an operating room. In the above cases, a mobile X-ray apparatus that is movable in the hospital is used as an apparatus for performing X-ray radiography to the patient.
The mobile X-ray apparatus mainly includes a main body provided with drive wheels on right and left sides thereof, an X-ray tube that applies X-rays to a subject, an arm that supports the X-ray tube on the main body such that the X-ray tube is freely movable, and operating handles. The drive wheels rotate with an electric motor in the main body. Rotating the drive wheels causes the main body to move forward/backward. A difference in rotation speed of the drive wheels on the right and left sides causes the main body to turn rightward/leftward.
The operating handles each include a plurality of pressure sensors. The pressure sensors each detect pressure applied to the operating handle by an operator for controlling rotation directions and rotation speeds of the drive wheels individually (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). Moreover, a plurality of distance sensors is provided on a back face of the main body. Even if force applied to the operating handles differs between the right side and the left side, a travelling direction of the main body is corrected appropriately in accordance with a distance between each of the distance sensors and the operator (see, for example, Patent Literature 2).
With the mobile X-ray apparatus, the operator stays frontward or rearward of the mobile X-ray apparatus while controlling the operating handles with operator's hands, and moves to a bedroom of a patient as an X-ray target (see, for example, Patent Literature 3). When moving to the patient's bedroom, the operator moves the arm appropriately to shift the X-ray tube to an optimal position for X-ray radiography. Then, a subject undergoes X-ray radiography, whereby a transmitted X-ray image is obtained. After the X-ray radiography, the operator controls the operating handles to move out from the bedroom with the mobile X-ray apparatus, and moves to a next place.    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-61944A    Patent Literature 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-94162A    Patent Literature 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-87595A